Project Details
Projekt
Regulation of organohalide respiration in Dehalococcoides mccartyi strains
Applicant
Privatdozentin Dr. Ute Lechner
Subject Area
Metabolism, Biochemistry and Genetics of Microorganisms
Term
from 2011 to 2018
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 171475307
The major aim of this project is to characterize the mechanism of regulation of reductive dehalogenase (rdh) gene expression, which enables Dehalococcoides to respond specifically to diverse chloroorganic compounds and to perform multi-step dechlorination reactions. The project will focus on the biochemical study of putative regulatory proteins encoded in the genome of Dehalococcoides sp. strain CBDB1 by genes divergently transcribed to rdhA genes. The roles of MarR-type regulators and of two-component-system regulators will be addressed. Putative MarR-type regulators will be selected for biochemical analysis on the basis of the observation of a differential transcription of the multiple rdh genes in response to specific chlorinated aromatic compounds. The regulators will be heterologously produced, biochemically characterized and the interaction with promoter regions of rdh genes and possible ligands studied. The genome sequence of the related but physiologically distinct Dehalococcoides strain DCMB5 will be annotated. Comparative analyzes of the genomes, rdh gene transcription and the proteomes of strains DCMB5 and CBDB1 will be carried out in close co-operation with other groups of the research cluster. The results will be correlated to the dechlorination behaviour of both strains in an attempt to assign functions to further key dehalogenases and their regulators and to identify possible regulatory cascades involved in the stepwise dechlorination of highly chlorinated compounds such as dibenzo-p-dioxins.
DFG Programme
Research Units
